I'm Back!!!

Wow ... has it really been 3 years since my last post!?! So much has happened, but where to start? Apart from moving, changing jobs and stopping gaming for a while things are still pretty much business as usual. I have a brad new modelling/gaming/man-cave space in my new house and it is fantastic.

As far as 40k is concerned, I did step away from it shortly after 6th edition was released, as it just got too expensive to play. I have since returned with the release of 7th and the new gaming space. It seems a shame to put all the hard work I put into my armies to waste. I have continued to add to my Dark Angels as well as build up a reasonably strong Blood Army. I will be posting my Blood Angels progress as well ... hopefully I will be forgiven by my Dark Angels brethren,

I am also working on an extensive Warhammer Warriors of Chaos army ... models are built and some painting has occurred, so stay tuned.

Finally I will also add some painting tips, reviews and links to my favourite sites, videos and modelers. I want this site to be something for everyone.

See you soon.

Chapter Master WIP Pt. 3 ... no ... 4 ... or is it 5?

Sorry for the long absence .. busy couple of weeks. I've done a bit more painting on the helmet and some of the accessories. The feathers I did starting with Codex Grey, then Badab Black wash and  layers of progressively lighter shades of grey, until I added a final line of white. Very slow and frustrating at times, but I love the results. The gold I did in my usual way which is Tin Bitz, Shining Gold, Devlin Mud wash, Shining Gold highlights with a very delicate highlight of Mithril Silver at the very edges.

Take a look at let me know what you think. By the way, I did do some of the arms and backpack, but the majority of the work is on the body, so I left the arms off.

The base was done with a 24" x 48" roll of cork I got at Staples for $15.00 It's thinner than the cork I've seen used on other sites, but I like this better ... seems more "natural". 

Company Master Update

Added some Dark Angels Green and finished up the cloak. Sadly I got a bit of the green on the cloak, so I had to repair the paint job ...still looks OK bu it was a bit touch-and-go for a while.  I'm really happy with the results so far. Tomorrow I'll do the highlights with Snot Green and start working on the details. Enjoy.

Company Master ans Command Squad + Painting Update

Here is a shot of the Company Master and his entourage. Still unpainted but I think they look awesome. It turns out that after I built them, the Command Squad is almost identical to the one in the DA Codex ... subliminal messages, perhaps?

I have also started painting the Company Master. I was really inspired by Lester Bursley of Awesomepaintjob and his video on how to paint Dark Angels. I love the final result. I don't have his talent or skill, but I can dream ... thanks Les. 

Here is a picture of Stage 1. More pictures to follow.

Dark Angels Chapter Master - Completed ... kinda

I finished my Chapter Master ... mostly. Still have a few items to magnetize. Below you can see how I magnetized the shoulder pads. Quick rule of thumb if you try this ... make sure all the magnets are oriented in the same way. If the magnet in the body and the magnet in the shoulder pad repel, it won't work. Even when they are right, if the magnet in the shoulder pad is at an acute angle to the shoulder magnet, it will still cause problems. Make sure all the magnets are lined up correctly.

 Here is the Combi-melta and power weapon. I fixed the helmet wings so he could have a banner. The banner is made from two vehicle Dark Angel emblems glued back to back. It's huge, but he is a Chapter Master after all.

 I'll be adding some static grass and bushes to the base. I like the rock and his position, although in the picture below it does look like he is falling backwards ;)

 Here you can see how I magnetized the backpack ... just in case I wanted to add a jetpack.

 Shoulder magnets on both the left and right arms using 1/32 x 1/16th magenets.

 I had to glue the powerfist should pad on, due to mismatched polarity between the arm magnet and the shoulder pad. Note he is now holding the combi-plasma.

 Here is the Lightening Claw and the Plasma pistol. The shoulder magnet is a little high on the arm. See the picture below to see the effect the strong arm magnet had in this position.

 If you look closely at the shoulder pad on the lightening claw, you can see how it doesn't sit properly unless the claw is point up. This is because the more powerful magnets in the body is pushing it out of alignment.

This is the only position that works with the lightening claw. It does look good, so I'm not too p.o.'ed about it.

Overall I'm very pleased about how he worked out. I'll be adding a Thunder Hammer (hopefully) and twin Lightening Claws. I'm tempted to use the Terminator claws. I saw them used in a video for some Blood Angel Assault Marines, and they actually looked good. Worst case is I have a set of magnetized lightening claws I can use on my Deathwing.

Chapter Master WIP Pt. 2

Well ... I was able to successfully magnetize my shoulder pads and it works ... for the most part. Not happy with how the Dark Angels powerfist worked out, so I may try a different one. The weapon arm, on the other hand worked perfectly. On a bit of a downside, the helmet wings interfere with all but the most rudimentary DA backpack. This means no banner, and none of the funky backpacks from the veteran box. I could pop the wings off, I suppose, but I do like the look.

 Pictures tomorrow.

Chapter Master WIP

As promised, here is my Chapter Master ... sorry for the lack of arms, but I am currently in the process of magnetizing all my weapon options, including single lightning claws and power fists.

Here is a picture of the wrist, with a 1/16th x 1/32 magnet inserted. Sorry for the slight blurriness.

The idea of being able to field my Chapter Master with a Jetpack, Thunderhammer and combi-plasma is too tempting not to leave that option open.

Here is the combi-plasma with the pair of the wrist magnet. I was afraid the hold would not be strong enough, but it works surprisingly well.

Next stop ... mgnetizing shoulder pads ... wish me luck.